Twitter Updates

February 26, 2012

Lawn Lions - West Texas New Grass

Out here in drought plagued Midland, Texas, the air is dry, the ground is hard and the soil is barren, except for some hardy plants that seem to defy the lack of water and laugh at the drought.

They used to be called weeds, a weed being a plant that is growing in the wrong place. But with no water for lawns, a hardy weed that can thrive in this harsh environment has earned the right to live, and in the case of the Dandelion, respect for simply surviving.

"Dandelion" sounds so weak for such a tough plant. Maybe "Lawn Lion" is a better newspeak moniker for this former weed, this tough survivor.

There was a time not so awfully long ago when the nanny-crats would send stern letters threatening fines if homeowners tried to let their yards go back to nature. But in light of the severe water rationing, homeowners are damned if they water their lawns and damned if they let their land go native. The municipal code just keeps getting bigger. They don't weed out the obsolete rules, and we are at the mercy of the code enforcers' discretion. But maybe, just maybe they'll relax their vigilance this season and enjoy the new look of the land.